DANVILLE, Va. – The number one seeded Methodist Monarchs defeated the Greensboro Pride in the last semi-final game by a final of 4-0 on Sunday in the USA South Conference Tournament. 

MC, the nation's sixth ranked team, had beaten GC four previous times before Sunday. Pride Head Coach Ken Carlyle pulled out all the stops in trying to defeat the Monarchs in the semifinal game.

Rather than pitch one of his regular starters, GC threw six different hurlers--none of which tossed more than 2 1/3 innings. The makeshift staff--Chad Clark, Torrey Poholsky, Brandon Jorth, Chris Mock, Steve Augone and Josh Maras--pitched well enough for GC to win.

Methodist, however, countered with a more traditional pitching approach. Adam Denning entered the game with a 3-2 record and 4.01 ERA. Denning pitched seven scoreless innings striking out four, and Blake Maxwell pitched two more for the save. 

For Greensboro, Kevin Mong went 2-for-4, and Taylor Kennedy was 1-for-3. The Pride collected seven hits but left nine runners on base. 

"We had our opportunities, but we couldn't get that clutch hit," Carlyle said. "Our guys are emotionally drained--that was our fifth game in three days. I think we showed we belong among the best in the conference."

Methodist took the lead early in the top of the second, playing some smart small-ball. Kyle Eudy was hit by a pitch, and then he moved to third on a single by Josh Harris. Allen Kent hit another single for an RBI, and advanced Harris to third. Then Matt Hunt brought in the last run of the inning on a sacrifice bunt to bring the score to 2-0. 

Methodist would strike again in the fourth, when Hunt singled, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jonathan Spivey, stole third, and finally was brought in on another single by David Hoffman. The Monarch's last score would be after Michael Ellsworth tripled down the right field line in the ninth, and was brought in when Ben Kaplan singled. 

For the Monarchs, Hunt went 1-for-4 with one run scored and one RBI, and Kent was 2-for-5 with another RBI. 

Line score:

Methodist 4, Greensboro 0 (Apr 17, 2005 at Danville, VA)
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Methodist........... 020 100 001  -  4 10  1      (26-10)
Greensboro........  000 000 000  -  0  7  4      (23-16)
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Pitchers: Methodist - DENNING, A; MAXWELL, B(8). Greensboro - CLARK; POHOLSKY(2); JORTH(5);
MOCK(6); AUGONE(7); MARAS(8).
Win-DENNING, A(4-2)  Save-MAXWELL, B(9)  Loss-CLARK(0-1)  T-3:00  A-248
DENNING, A faced 2 batters in the 8th.

GC record 23-16; Streak L1; Up next season finale vs. Chowan, 4/20, 6 p.m.